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is for clever twist. According to Crossword Clue Solver there are 829 Z words. This post will use one of them.

I’ve been waiting for 25 letters to share this one. There’s a book we’ve checked out from the library numerous times. Mike Lester wrote a book in 2000 that invokes laughter and thought in equal measure. When you hear “A is for Salad” you know something is a bit off. Until you see the illustration, that is.

I’ve imitated this strategy in a few posts through this ABC to XYZ Challenge. V, T, and E are few example of when I told you the letter but what it was for didn’t match. Until you read the post, that is. As you can see in the photo, A is certainly not for salad, but for the alligator that is eating the salad.

It’s a clever twist on your typical alphabet book. We writers are suckers for clever twists. (That’s why Usual Suspects is one of my all time favorite movies) We also know that “The End” isn’t really “The End”. It’s just the point at which the story stops being told.

Butt, this is the alphabet. There is nothing past Z. Or Zed. Or Зэд. Or ゼッド. (Thanks Google Translate)

Before last year I had never heard of beta readers. Being a technology geek I had heard of beta testing and beta versions of software/hardware. Never heard of beta reading, though I could easily guess what it meant. Proof read an author’s book.

Then I was asked to be one.

I must admit, confess, that a small part of me agreed to be a beta reader because I wanted to read the book before anyone else. I wanted to be the first. The bigger part of me wanted to beta read because I wanted I wanted to help her book to be successful. I had read her first, self-published book, Nowhere to Hide so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her new one. This second book is a completely unrelated to her first.

I speak about none other than Tracey Tobin. When I joined WordPress she was the first one I followed. I still follow her. Not in that creepy stalker way… just on WordPress.

Tori is haunted by past mistakes that caused her to lose her most beloved people. Wracked with guilt and haunted by has happened, she yearns for a new life. When a gift is mysteriously returned to her 17 years after events were set in motion, she finds a way out. However, this new world isn’t so perfect. It has it’s own problems. And it’s own secrets.

Read The Other World: Book One on your Kindle App. It’s only $2.99. Bonus: If you’re a Kindle Unlimited user you can read it for free. FREE! And really, you can’t beat $2.99 either. That’s almost free.

If you’re an old school reader and prefer to hold a book, to smell a book, to take a book to bed, the paperback version is coming very soon.

If nothing else, just go take a peek. The cover itself is well worth it. If your first thought is “Wow, nice butt” you won’t be the only one. If your second thought is “What is this other world?” you won’t be the only one either. Go read it… you can thank me later.

This is a guest post written by five year old, Bang. DW has already shared it to her Facebook. Now I’m sharing it with all of you. He worked hard on this story for at least an hour today. He illustrated it, too. If it doesn’t make you smile, you should ask Santa for a warmer heart. Look below each image to see it’s translation.

Feis [pronouced [fʲɛʃ] [it rhymes with “meas” in measure]. It’s a Gaelic word for a traditional arts and culture festival.

My Dear Wife (DW) works for a literacy council. Every November they hold a huge fundraiser and invite two authors to speak. They also hold a silent auction (where I won a DeWalt drill) and offer a delicious catered, buffet meal. Since DW has come to work for this council three years ago, I have looked forward to Feis.

It counts as date night, too. We don’t get many of those.

Thanks to this event I have now met 5 Canadian greats.

Sheree Fitch

Graham Steele

Lesley Crew

Bette MacDonald

Ami McKay

Ami Mckay was the speaker this year and I think I was as excited to meet her as I was to meet Sheree Fitch. She was invited along with David Muise. However, Mr. Muise had to cancel last minute. He’s been battling prostate cancer for the past three years. On the day of the event doctors discovered a second strain of cancer and he immediately underwent a dose of chemo and was instructed to go home to bed. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Ami is the author a best seller, “The Birth House”. It’s on my to read list.

The Birth House is the story of Dora Rare, the first daughter to be born in five generations of the Rare family. As a child in an isolated village in Nova Scotia, she is drawn to Miss Babineau, an outspoken Acadian midwife with a gift for healing and a kitchen filled with herbs and folk remedies. During the turbulent years of World War I, Dora becomes the midwife’s apprentice. Together, they help the women of Scots Bay through infertility, difficult labors, breech births, unwanted pregnancies and even unfulfilling sex lives.

Mrs. McKay gave us a bit of a backstory (I love those) about the book. It’s certainly a house with so much history. I believe she told us that the midwife of the house, Mrs.Rebecca Steele, had just one child whom she adopted. When a mother came to the birth house Mrs. Steele would make the mother and baby stay in the house for a week afterwards. It is the house the author now lives in. Her second son was born in that house.

Ami was great to listen to. She has three published books: The Birth House, The Virgin Cure, and The Witches of New York. We received some tangent stories on those books, too. My favorite was about a blue marble. In her book a marble appears to a character. This blue marble has some significance and meaning to it. The character knows this marble was placed for her to find. After writing this part of her story, Ami was out for a walk with her husband in freshly fallen snow. Not a track to be seen in the white stuff and what does Ami find in the snow? A blue marble.

She read a bit to us from The Virgin Cure and The Witches of New York. Afterwards, I bought them both and she signed them (I already have The Birth House). DW has already finished The Virgin Cure. Ami was even gracious enough to have her picture taken with me! You can check out her blog, too!

Did I mention she’s an American (just like me) who married an amazing Canadian (just like me) then moved to Nova Scotia (just like me)? How awesome!